Following the success of CaBiRet in October, and with whispers on the wind of another event in the new year, we caught up with Marcus Morgan of the Bisexual Index to find out how CaBiRet came about – and what we can hope for in the future.
Hello Marcus. Let’s get right down to business. How did the idea for CaBiRet come about?
As August progressed I found myself looking ahead to Bisexual Visibility Day. Looking ahead but not so much looking forward. I realised that although there were things planned for the launch of the book I’d been involved with, Purple Prose, I didn’t have any bisexual events I could go to for Bi Visibility Day itself.
There wasn’t anything in London on the day?
That’s right. And not just geographically – the sort of event I would want to go to wasn’t happening. I have very fond… Continue reading
The bisexual pride flag was today raised over a London council building for the first time.
Nadia Shah, who was appointed Mayor of Camden in May 2016, hoisted the flag in a small ceremony on the roof of Camden Town Hall at 1oam today. The ceremony was attended by members of the Bisexual Index and Camden LGBT Forum as well as local activists and civic staff.
Mayor Nadia Shah addresses the crowd
The flag has been flown at Council buildings in Brighton and Hove since 2012, but other councils have been reluctant to follow suit. This year, just five further councils (including Camden) – out of more than 410 – have chosen to follow suit.
The Bisexual Index told Biscuit, “a lot of councils have told us that they fly the rainbow flag for gay pride, and that we’re included in that. But bisexuals… Continue reading
Pride in London is courting controversy once again, by allowing UKIP to march in the Parade that was held in the West End on Saturday.
UKIP, a far-right political party whose members have been outspoken in their racism and homophobia, had their application to march in the parade controversially turned down by the Pride in London committee following an outcry by the LGBT community. The committee insisted the decision was not made on political grounds but in the name of safety.
In December, Kerry Smith, standing for UKIP South Basildon and East Thurrock resigned from his candidacy after calling gay people ‘fucking disgusting old poofters’. In February the group UKIP Christian Soldiers, authorised by UKIP HQ circulated leaflets that claimed educating school children on LGBT issues was ‘sexual grooming’.
Approximately 15 LGBT* in UKIP activists – who had not paid the fee required to take part in the parade,… Continue reading
Here’s a round-up of some of the news, blogs posts and comment we missed this week.
Did we miss any other must-see stories? Let us know in comments…
Image: “Actress Laverne Cox at The Paley Center For Media’s PaleyFest 2014 Honoring “Orange Is The New Black”” by Dominic D. Shared under CC BY 2.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Being Bi – My First Pride
I’m 9 years old. Some friends and I play “Mummies and Daddies”. It turns into a campaign at school of calling me a dyke and a lesbian. I don’t understand – I have crushes on both men and women, but assume puberty will establish a preference.
I’m 17 years old. One night at a classmate’s house, she strokes my waist, she feels different to the lone boy I’ve kissed so far. Her boyfriend watches from a chair. After a while, she leaps away without warning, begins to cry and… Continue reading →